There are some cakes whose appearance alone will make your mouth water. This meringue roulade with rose petals and fresh raspberries, of which we will gladly share the recipe, is just like that. It looks like a piece of art with its combination of colors, soft structure and rich filling.

What makes this pie extra special is that it is made with home-grown, fresh, organic ingredients. The raspberries are handpicked in the garden of Purfruit. The rose petals come from a rosebush in the garden. There is nothing that has more flavor than products that come straight out of nature and that have been fed with love and care.

Deep in the fields of Le Monde des Mille Couleurs , we feasted on a piece of this delicious cake. A big thanks to Ann Vansteenkiste and her daughter for the preparation of this cake and to Yotam Ottolenghi for publishing the recipe in his book Plenty More. The recipe of this cake is a little bit different from the original one. We have replaced the vanilla extract by homemade organic vanilla blend sprinkles and we have changed the pistachios to walnuts.

Ingredients for the vanilla blend sprinkles

• 1 dried vanilla pod
• 9 saffron threads
• 1 clove of star anise
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• grind everything until it is dust-like

Tips:

• Grinding is easy when using the Thermomix or a coffee grinder used only for the grinding of herbs.
• Store in a jar.
• Can be used for desserts in combination with rose water ….
• Warning: put away the jar immediately, otherwise it will be empty before you know… 🙂

Ingredients for the meringue:

• 120 g egg white (about 4 eggs)
• 250 g light brown sugar for an authentic effect (or white granulated sugar for a white meringue)
• 1 tbsp vanilla blend sprinkles (or vanilla essence)
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp corn flour

Ingredients for the cream

• 400 ml whipped cream
• 100 g mascarpone
• 1 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1,5 tbsp rose water

Ingredients for the filling

• 150 g raspberries
• 2 tbsp rose petals (dried or freshly picked)
• 1 tbsp (home) roasted crushed walnuts (or peeled and chopped pistachios)

How to prepare?

• Preheat the oven to 160° C. Cover a baking pan with parchment paper.  Make sure there is 1 cm left above the mold.  
• Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they start to become stiff. Gently add the granulated sugar while the mixer is running. Continue mixing until you get a firm, shiny meringue.
• Fold in the vanilla blend sprinkles, the wine vinegar and the corn flour with a spatula. Spread the mixture with the spatula across the bottom of the baking tray.
• Bake the meringue in the oven for thirty minutes until there is a crust.  The meringue has to be done, but remain soft at the same time. Allow to cool. Turn the baking pan around and remove the cooled meringue by gently pulling the parchment paper.
• Add the cream and the mascarpone in a bowl together with the rose water and the sugar. Beat the mixture until it is stiff. Spread the mixture over the  meringue, but save a couple of tablespoons for the decoration. Leave a narrow border around the meringue.
• Sprinkle the raspberries and three quarters of the rose petals over the cream.
• Gently roll the meringue. Use the parchment paper to facilitate the rolling. Put the roulade on a serving dish. Create a meandering line from the rest of the cream on top of the roulade and put in the fridge for at least another 30 minutes.
• Sprinkle some powdered sugar, the rest of the rose petals and the pistachios over the roulade before serving.

Enjoy!